Spain Beckham Law (Ley Beckham) 2026: Requirements, Tax Rates, Forms and Traps

Spain's Beckham Law is the common English name for Article 93 of Law 35/2006. It is a special inbound-worker tax regime for qualifying people who move to Spain and become Spanish tax resident.

Ley Beckham is the Spanish search term for Spain's Beckham Law. It is not a separate visa or a separate law for footballers. In practice, people use it to refer to Article 93 and the special tax regime for qualifying inbound workers, professionals, entrepreneurs and family members.

Covered general income is taxed at 24% up to EUR 600,000 and 47% above that. Spanish-source savings income is not taxed at 24%; it uses the savings-income scale.

No. The 24% headline applies to covered general income up to EUR 600,000. Dividends, interest, capital gains, Spanish-source income, wealth tax and reporting duties need separate analysis.

The regime can apply for the tax year in which the person becomes Spanish tax resident and the following five tax years, provided the conditions continue to be met.

Form 149 is normally due within six months of the relevant Social Security registration, employment start, activity start or accepted origin-country Social Security documentation trigger. Associated family members have six months from their own entry into Spain, or the principal taxpayer's deadline if that is later (RD 439/2007 art. 116, BOE, checked 18 October 2026).

AEAT requires the applicant to have a NIF and be in the taxpayer census. The supporting documents are uploaded first through the specific documentation procedure, the registry number from that upload is entered on Modelo 149, and the form is filed electronically.

AEAT's instructions say Modelo 149 is presented electronically by internet using a recognized electronic certificate, which can include DNI-e, or Cl@ve PIN.

Accepted taxpayers file Form 151 for the annual tax return while the special regime applies. It is not the ordinary resident IRPF return.

Sometimes. Remote employees can be eligible in certain Article 93 cases, and AEAT's instructions specifically mention employees with the international telework visa. The visa itself has its own work limits: employees work for companies outside Spain, while professional visa holders can have Spanish-client work only up to 20% of total professional activity. Self-employed and freelance cases need a separate Article 93 route review.

No. The digital nomad visa is an immigration route. Beckham Law is a tax election. The applicant still needs to meet Article 93 conditions, fit the right employee or narrow professional route, and file Modelo 149 on time with supporting evidence.

Possibly. Article 93 includes certain spouses, parents of the taxpayer's children, children under 25 and disabled children, but timing, relationship and income-comparison conditions apply. The combined liquidable tax bases of associated family taxpayers under the regime must be lower than the principal taxpayer's liquidable base for each applicable tax year.

Some directors can use the regime. If the company is a patrimonial (asset-holding) entity, the director cannot hold a stake that makes it a related entity under article 18 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, generally 25% or more; that limit does not apply to ordinary operating companies. Check the company, shareholding and activity facts before you file.

Not automatically. Ordinary freelance or self-employed income through a Spanish permanent establishment is outside Article 93 unless the facts fit a narrow qualifying route, such as entrepreneur activity, startup services, or training, research, development or innovation activity.

Equity compensation needs a specific review. Grant, vesting, exercise, sale, workdays and source timing can change the tax result, so do not assume all equity is taxed at 24%.

No. Spanish-source savings income, including dividends, interest and capital gains, uses the savings-income scale rather than the 24% general-income rate.

No. Article 93 taxpayers generally face wealth tax and the solidarity tax on Spanish assets and rights under real-obligation concepts, so Spanish property, company interests and other Spanish assets need a separate asset review.

They can, but the answer is status-specific. A taxpayer validly under Article 93 may have a different Modelo 720 position from an ordinary Spanish tax resident, while non-opted family members, post-regime years, crypto reporting and status changes need separate current review.

It can help on the Spanish side, but it does not remove U.S. filing or worldwide-income rules for U.S. citizens and resident aliens. U.S. taxpayers should model foreign tax credits, foreign earned income exclusion and information reporting separately.

It can. Spanish real estate can create Spanish-source income, imputed-income, wealth tax and solidarity-tax questions that are separate from the 24% salary headline.

AEAT can reject a late option. If the deadline may have been missed, model ordinary Spanish tax residence and speak to a Spanish tax professional quickly.

No. Low income, deduction-heavy cases, high Spanish investment income, wealth-tax exposure, complex equity, family-income mismatch or treaty questions can make ordinary tax treatment comparable or better.

AEAT's instructions show identity fields, main-or-associated taxpayer status, principal taxpayer details for associated filings, representative details where relevant, cause of presentation, supporting-document registry number, route-specific details and activity start dates.

Remote employees should prepare employer evidence recognising the employment relationship, activity start date, Social Security or origin-country coverage position, and estimated duration of the remote work in Spain, alongside the general identity, residence and route documents.

AEAT's instructions say that, if appropriate, the Tax Agency issues the accreditation document within a maximum of 10 business days after the option and supporting documents are presented.

Not directly. Our Spain Beckham Law service, from €700, maps your eligibility and prepares the Form 149 evidence with you: NIF and tax census readiness, supporting documents and the filing order. The filing itself, the tax advice and payroll treatment stay with a qualified tax specialist.

No. Despite the name, Article 93 excludes the special employment relationship of professional athletes regulated by Royal Decree 1006/1985, so footballers and other professional sportspeople on sports employment contracts cannot use the regime (LIRPF art. 93.1.b, BOE, checked 18 October 2026). Other employees, directors, entrepreneurs and highly qualified professionals can, if they meet the conditions.

The regime covers the tax year in which you become Spanish tax resident and the next five. For this purpose, the first year is the first calendar year in which, after your move, you spend more than 183 days in Spain (RD 439/2007 art. 115, BOE, checked 18 October 2026). The move itself must happen in that first year or the year before, and you must not have been Spanish resident in the five previous tax years (LIRPF art. 93.1).

Yes. You can renounce it in November or December, with effect from the following 1 January, by filing Modelo 149; employees first give their employer the withholding data communication under article 88 of the regulation. If you stop meeting a condition, you are excluded from that tax year and must tell AEAT within one month. Either way, you cannot opt into the regime again (RD 439/2007 arts. 117 and 118, BOE, checked 18 October 2026).